World Bank delegates visited the Cavite Coffee Processing and Trading enterprise subproject in the renowned coffee-producing town of Amadeo, Cavite. The Php 15.9-M-subproject, consisting of a 400-square-meter processing facility and processing equipment, aims to expand and upgrade the coffee processing business of the Café Amadeo Development Cooperative (CADC). It addresses the cooperative’s need for storage of raw materials and improves its processing operations to meet the increasing market demand for quality coffee. 

The CADC reported to the World Bank its major accomplishments in the three years they have been operating with the help of the subproject. Through their larger storage capacity to hold raw materials and faster and smoother processing operations through the subproject, they had a 63% increase in their production volume, which allowed them to accept bigger orders and clients. This resulted in the increase of CADC’s annual sales from around two million pesos in 2020 to more than three million in 2023, as of June. 

CADC’s financial progress enabled them to generate more than 20 jobs, establish other means to generate income, gain more members, and construct another coffee shop to further their marketing. This ability to be self-sustaining gathered CADC commendations from World Bank Senior Financial Management Specialist Tomas Sta. Maria, Jr. and World Bank Institutional and Operational Procedures Specialist Luningning Bondoc.

Reflecting on their journey, Chairman Rico Chavez, CADC Chairman shared that careful planning had always been a vital step in their business endeavors as this helped them have a direction to achieve success. Monitoring also comes in handy so they can take immediate and well-thought-out actions. Vice Chairman Joilyn Nesperos then shared that keeping product quality consistently at par with industry standards plays a vital role in keeping customers satisfied. In the same vein, General Manager Agnes Madlansacay said that keeping themselves knowledgeable about the process and their products is also crucial and imperative. More importantly, the officers emphasized the importance of teamwork to keep everyone and everything working together.

“Napakahalaga ng teamwork hindi lang sa mga empleyado at coop pero pati na rin sa lahat ng kasama sa buong proseso tulad ng farmers, LGUs, at customers upang epektibong tumakbo itong ating negosyo, mula production hanggang marketing,” Chavez said.

CADC gathered more commendations from FAO Agribusiness Expert Cora Dankers, who said that CADC’s coffee is one of the best she’s had in the Philippines. Meanwhile, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Natural Resources Management Officer Jim Hancock added that the insights and lessons learned shared by the CADC will be useful in guiding the implementation of future enterprise subprojects to be funded under the recently launched DA-PRDP Scale-Up. 

To bring their enterprise to new heights, the CADC shared that they are developing new coffee blends and continuously sending their staff to train in coffee processing. Meanwhile, to spread their success on a larger scale, CADC members also started to train other coffee producers and processors in the Bicol region and other parts of the country. They are also actively attending events about coffee all over the country, one of which is the recently conducted Philippine Coffee Expo held last June 2023. #